1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates in general to an electro-mechanical device for generating sound-effects and flashing lights with a change in position or tilt of said device and more particularly it relates to such devices being incorporated with toys whose position or tilt changes with use during play.
2. Description of the Prior Art
With the exception of a few sound generating toys such as dolls that cry when they are tipped, most toys or devices require some form of manual intervention to generate tones or sound-effects. Most of the modern electronic devices can generate sophisticated tones and sound-effects such as machine-gun fire, phaser, death-ray, mass-invert, bombs, etc., but they usually require different buttons to be pushed manually to select the various sounds-effects. Likewise, if the device has a manually-operated trigger button, then selector switches must be set previously to output the desired sound-effects.
Video games, which are extremely popular, employ a mixture of video graphics and tones or sound-effects to stimulate interest. The player usually utilizes a joystick or the like, as an input device to the game, to control the movement on the screen and the game responds with sounds relative to the actions produced on the screen. The joystick is position sensitive and is manually controlled by the player. Joysticks, used by computers, are mostly devices which give a finite resolution of linear position in the four quadrants of its XY plane, while joysticks, used with video games are usually on/off contacts in each direction of the X and Y axis limiting the angular resolution.
Lately, a few devices have appeared on the market which generate sound-effects, these are radar-like units for the frustrated driver, the portable personnal avenger devices and the handle-bar mounted devices for bicycles. However, all of the above-mentioned devices require manual operation to select the various tones or sound-effects.
The popularity of toys and games producing sound-effects combined with the enthusiasm for activity toys and recreational vehicles, would certainly result in an interesting product if sound-effects are generated while riding a toy or vehicle such as a skateboard, bicycle, or similar vehicle without pressing buttons. Likewise, hand-held toys such as toy airplanes could automatically generate sound-effects by tilting actions during its play or use. One such product is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,824,139. However, this device is basically a radio mounted under the skateboard. Once powered up and a station is manually selected, the radio plays independently of the rider's actions. Another device is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,270,764, entitled, "Noise-maker for a Skateboard". This device, however, is a purely mechanical/acoustical design limited to only one sound, produced through motion, regardless of the actions of the rider, or tilts to which the skateboard is subjected to.
Thus, it is apparent that there is a need for a device which can automatically generate different sound-effects and flashing lights with a change in position or tilt of said device when such device is mounted on a vehicle or toy controlled by the action of the user.